 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Worker accused of molesting 2
By BILL VARIAN © St. Petersburg Times, published December 5, 2000 LECANTO -- A Brown Schools mental health worker was arrested Monday on charges that he sexually molested two girls housed at the controversial center for emotionally disturbed children. Samuel Demetrius Smith, 38, of 2321 Carter St., Apt. B, Inverness, is accused of assaulting a 17-year-girl on at least four occasions after showering her with sexually explicit notes. Investigators have confiscated at least one of the alleged notes, according to an arrest report. A second girl, described as a 12-year-old from Apopka, said Smith also molested her on several Smith was arrested at his home Monday morning on two counts of sexual battery and was being held at the Citrus County Detention Facility on $20,000 bail. Brown Schools spokeswoman Donna Burtanger said Smith was fired last week after working there for about a month. Burtanger said all Brown Schools employees, including Smith, have undergone extensive background checks, including a national criminal record review. She said Smith passed all requirements. "I can tell you that the Brown Schools takes every precaution that we can to ensure that something like this doesn't happen," Burtanger said. "We are as shocked and appalled at the allegations here as anyone can be." The arrest is sure to add ammunition to residents who have challenged Brown Schools in and outside of court since it opened this year. Clark Stillwell, who represents neighboring residents challenging county approval of Brown Schools' location in the old Heritage Hospital, said he didn't think the arrest would affect the legal dispute. "We regret that that occurred for the children's sake and the neighborhood's," Stillwell said. "The pertinence of that would go toward the Brown School's ability to get relicensed" in 2001. Texas-based Brown Schools offers treatment to emotionally and mentally disturbed children under a contract with the state Department of Children and Families. As a mental health worker there, Smith had free access to children, who reside in dormitory-style rooms, Burtanger said. Burtanger was unable to say what kind of training Smith had, other than what Brown Schools provides. But she said his title applies to most Brown Schools employees who work with the children but who are not psychiatrists or counselors or other professionals with mental health degrees. She also said Brown Schools reported the alleged molestation to authorities after the first child stepped forward. The 17-year-old girl, whose hometown was not provided by the Sheriff's Office, told investigators Smith first asked her if she liked sex. The girl said Smith told her he loved her and promised to take off his wedding ring so he could be with her and make a baby with her. And she said Smith passed her as many as 16 notes. In those notes, the teenager said Smith wrote in graphic terms that he wanted to end her virginity. She said Smith asked her to wear a thong bathing suit when she swam in the pool, and that she complied out of fear. One night, while preparing to go to sleep, the girl said Smith appeared at her bedside and molested her. She said the same thing happened perhaps three other times. The 12-year-old child's allegations are less detailed in arrest reports. She told investigators that Smith molested her 9 or 10 times and told her what to say as he did so. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was notified and assisted in the investigation, conducting interviews with other children who lived in the same dorm as the alleged victims. Smith's arrest report indicates more charges may follow. Evan said sheriff's deputies have one of the original notes Smith allegedly gave the 17-year-old. "The other items taken into evidence were three to five copies of letters that the defendant had written to other students," Evan said. His arrest report indicates Smith invoked his right to counsel and to remain silent. A female who answered the phone at his home said that he was not there and that she could not answer questions.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
|
